Glamours

Arousing Memories

Harry felt himself physically fading away as Lucy's soft lips came down on his and suddenly he was no longer lying on her bed. He was in a strange room; it looked like a library. A noise from behind him broke through his observations though as a blonde girl that looked about 16 came into the large room, followed by a boy about the same age, and a slight, but extremely familiar, redhead. The redhead, spotting Harry, smiled in good-bye at the boy next to her and walked towards him, grinning widely.

Suddenly, Harry recognized her. "Lucy?"

"Hey. How's it going?" she replied, sounding innocent and cheery, the exact opposite of what Lucy Emerson sounded like normally.

"Where am I?" he demanded. "What did you do to me? What"¦..

Wincing, she put a hand onto his arm. "Ok, calm down. We didn't go anywhere. You're safe."

"What do you mean we didn't go anywhere? How do you explain this?" Harry gestured to the library.

"Harry Potter, welcome to Sunnydale High in beautiful scenic Sunnydale California. This is where I went to school. Well, my version of it anyway," the pixie in front of him said.

Harry cocked an eyebrow at this, still not understanding.

Exasperated, Willow cried, "We're in my head ok! The only way I can teach you to do Wandless magic is to share the feeling of doing it with you," she was silent for half a moment. "Besides. You need to know the truth."

"What truth?" he took in her appearance cautiously. "Who are you Lucy?"

"See, that's just the thing. Lucy Emerson doesn't exist really. We made her up." With a sigh, Willow stuck a hand out. "Willow Rosenberg. Pleased to meet you."

The only response Harry had to this was to drop his jaw. "Excuse me?" He ignored her hand.

"Fine, don't shake my hand. You know Harry, you're quite rude."

Harry put a hand to his head in exasperation. "Alright, for my sanity's sake could you please get to the point of all this?" He motiowidewidely with his hands again to include the library and the school in general.

"I told you. You're in my head, you're going to learn Wandless magic and you're going to see my past. All of it." Willow said this last bit in a resigned voice. It had to be done. Didn't mean she liked having to do it. "Follow me, there's much to see before we get to the actual magic thing."

And with that, she left the library, dragging a reluctantly curious Harry with her to a movie theatre located where the gym should be-or so she told him. "I hated PE," she admitted mischievously. "It has no place in my head."

Harry had laughed at this before being handed some popcorn by the girl. Startled, he looked her in the eyes and raised an eyebrow. "There's popcorn in your head?"

Willow simply shrugged, smiling ironically. "Well it's going to be a long movie. I thought we'd get hungry."

Harry, who had always enjoyed Muggle movies, went along with this logic. After all, who was he to say anything? It was her head and, now that he knew where he was, regardless of the fact that her head had been involved in some pretty dark things, he felt perfectly safe. He was beginning to see why Dumbledore had said he could trust Lucy. Indeed, anyone that kept popcorn on hand for visitors to their BRAINS couldn't be ALL bad.

"Now pay attention," Willow said, slouching down in her plush seat and taking a handful of popcorn. "There WILL be a pop quiz after the lesson."

"Funny," Harry deadpanned and turned his attention to the movie that was Willow's life.

For the next few hours, Harry watched Willow's past, taking in her memories and thoughts from the past 22 years. One thing was for sure: she wasn't what he had been expecting. Shy and unassuming, the Willow Rosenberg in these scenes was quiet, but exuberant and reminded Harry a lot of Hermione. Well, a very timid and less opinionated Hermione. He saw her as she fell in love with her best friend in High School, feeling her pain when he didn't reciprocate, saw her as she met Buffy and watched as her other best friend, Jesse was turned and killed. He saw her as Angelus came back, watched as he tried to kill her and then, with a trick that Willow had to feel the spells she used, actually felt when she re-souled the vampire. These years of her life reminded Harry a lot of his own. Granted, Willow had been risking her life far more frequently than he ever did, but the big-bad scenarios were familiar; after all, he had a big bad to fight as well.

He felt as she floated a pencil for the first time and wept with her as she and Xander cheated on their respective others, and lost them because of it, had a good laugh as Willow's vampire double came into town and felt as they had sent her back to her own dimension. At this point he had made a comment about comparing Vamp Willow and Lucy Emerson's wardrobe. Willow hadn't been amused. After that, things started to get dark and Harry began to understand why Willow felt the way she did to him; you couldn't be surrounded by that much evil for so long before it started to engulf you.
Willow started to cry silently as they watched the next few years. Indeed, watching as she fell in love with Tara, lost and gained her best friend, got addicted to black magic and tried to end the world after the tragic death of her lover choked Harry up as well. Then came the long months of recovery where, Harry was surprised to see Molly Weasely make an appearance. After, came the destruction of the Hellmouth, Willow's activation of the slayers and the flight to L.A.

With a silent pledge to make up for the nasty things he had called her, or said to her, Harry put an arm over Willow's shoulder in comfort, holding her as she gave into the sobs that had been quietly wracking her body.

With a wave of her hand, Willow stopped the movie and, with a sniff of her nose said, "Are you sure you want to see what comes next? This is the last 6 months or so."

Harry shrugged and gave her a reassuring smile, arm still holding her close to his body. "We've come this far"¦I might as well learn how you pulled off your own death. Who knows, this information might come in handy some da

With a sigh of resignation, she waved her hand and the movie continued. They saw the attacks that had followed her arrival, the planning stage and the startling transformation that had changed mousy, sweet Willow Rosenberg into sultry, bitchy Lucy Emerson.

Now Harry saw what had driven her to fake her own death. He couldn't believe it. Voldemort wanted her on his side. She was that powerful. Well, Harry knew that, had known that since the first time he had met Willow. He shook his head and turned to her in the darkened theatre. "I'm sorry."

Willow looked incredulously at him, "For what? You couldn't have known. Besides, I DO feel dark, I HAVE been dark and I WAS a bitch," she snuggled closer to Harry. "Besides, I haven't that good of a verbal battle since Sunnydale."

Harry laughed aloud at this, "Nonetheless. I'm sorry for my behaviour."

"Apology accepted," she stood and looked behind her at the clock that had magically appeared on the back wall of the theatre. "Oh my God! Is that really the time? We've been here for 8 hours!"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Severus and Minerva are going to kill me! It's dangerous to do this for so long. You can get permanently stuck in someone's head if you stay too long there," she walked into the aisle and pulled Harry with her. "Oh and Harry?" she said sweetly when they were back in the library.

"Yes?" he asked, suspicious at the sugary sweet tone her voice had taken.

"I was serious about the pop quiz."